Just a Kiss?
by Crazy Chick 74
Summary: So I saw a clip of an older episode online recently and it got me thinking... This is the result.


**This is for Luc91 – who's posted a review for every chapter I've posted in my EE stories; even though she's been ill recently. Get well soon, babe! **

**This is what I'd like to have seen in the episode on 23****rd**** August 2012 (but it absolutely would never get shown before the watershed – and probably not after it either). By the way you'll work out what episode it is in the first couple of paragraphs. Enjoy!**

**Just a Kiss?**

This afternoon was supposed to be fun. That had been the plan and it was what she'd said when she mentioned the game. He'd teased her by asking if she was twelve and it just riled her further. For a fraction of a second she hated him. It'd been bad enough seeing the two of them kissing just minutes earlier without him rubbing her nose in it about this as well. Anyway it was only a game and she was going to have fun. It was what she needed.

That thought ended about five minutes later when everything changed. It all started with an innocent game of spin the bottle, although maybe it had never been that innocent, truth be told. Lauren's troubles really began when the bottle she'd spun, landed on _him_. In those first few seconds Lauren wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to that happening. Even more importantly she wasn't sure how she wanted to react... although she had an inkling it was to do a little happy dance on the spot while no one was looking.

Lucy and the other girls protested how she couldn't kiss him. He was her cousin and it would be wrong. Lauren had wanted to step in at this point and make her own protest at their argument because she wanted this, much as she hated to admit it. She wanted to kiss him. Did that make her a bad person? She was pretty sure all her friends would scream a resounding yes to that question. Was it really so wrong that she'd felt this way about him since the first time she'd seen him? She'd been forced to bury those emotions when she discovered who it was she was fawning over. Then they were shoved even deeper as she watched him date her best friend. Was it her fault when she had to look the other way every time she saw them together? Could she help it if the sight of them kissing made her breath falter and the bitter taste of jealousy fill her mouth? Was it any wonder she spent several nights in a drunken stupor, trying to push those feelings aside and forget about her mysterious cousin. As if that was even possible...

Sorry, got distracted, back to today... In the end it was Fats that rescued her when he cried out "the rules are the rules." It was a sentiment he would live to regret in a few short minutes when it was his turn but that's a different story. Whatever his thoughts later, it seemed Lauren was going to get her wish. She was back to doing her internal happy dance.

She took a large gulp of vodka from the glass by her side, needing some dutch courage to prepare herself for the next few minutes. She glanced up and saw him moving across to her on his knees. He was staring at her intently and for a brief second she let herself believe he wanted this too. She rose to her knees, suddenly feeling incredibly shy as she studied the rug she was kneeling on. She took a deep breath and lifted her head again, staring into his eyes and seeing them... full of lust? She was sure she had to be dreaming.

He moved one step further forward, the sound their friends made as they urged them on in the background faded to a dull hum as they both focused solely on each other. His hands came up and cupped her cheeks and his mouth slowly lowered to hers. The touch of his lips ignited a fire between them and time seemed to stand still. No amount of dutch courage could've prepared her for this.

The slam of the front door was what tore them apart and neither would be able to say how long it had been that they'd been kissing. Apparently a little too long for their friends and there was tension running throughout the room, though no one said anything. Joey pulled himself to his feet, "I'd better go..." he said, moving after his girlfriend out of the house. Lauren sat back on the rug, ignoring some of the glances from her friends as she tried to pretend everything was okay; that he hadn't just taken her heart with him as he left the house.

The party ended not long after that; after Fats rued his proclamation he'd made earlier of 'the rules are the rules' which led to him being forced to kiss Anthony; Whitney had left not long after that when she got a text from Tyler. And soon Lauren was left sitting on her own in the lounge with two bottles of vodka lying before her. It hadn't really mattered anyway that they'd all left because the party was over for her when her cousin had left.

Never had she wanted a drink so much. Despite all the vodka she'd drunk she felt stone cold sober and had done since their lips had touched. And yet she couldn't bring herself to drink anything now either. She didn't want to forget the last hour. She wanted to remember every little detail. It wasn't supposed to be this confusing. It was just supposed to be a kiss.

*JL*JL*

"How would you like it if I kissed another bloke?" she said as she moved through the gardens in the centre of the square.

"You can do what you want, Lucy. It was just a kiss." Joey said as he trailed after her.

"I think we both know that is a lie." She said, turning to face him. "She's my best friend, Joey. She's your cousin." She stopped and stared at him, "I saw it. You've never kissed me like that, Joey. Never! So what does that tell you, eh?"

"We were playing a game, Lucy. It meant nothing. It was just a kiss." He protested.

"Stop LYING to yourself even if you won't stop lying to me!" Lucy said, "I can't do this anymore." She turned and began to walk away from him.

"Are you saying we're over?" Joey called after her.

Lucy stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder, "Yeah, I guess I am. I need to stop this before I get hurt any further." She whispered. She began to move away from him again but this time he didn't follow after her.

He stood thinking about what she'd just said. She was right, he had been lying to himself and it was time to face up to the truth. He needed to follow his heart for a change. He knew what he wanted.

*JL*JL*

Lauren was absorbed by the bottles lying on the rug before her and she failed to hear the soft footsteps that moved from the kitchen towards the lounge. She also missed the sound of the armchair behind her being pulled backwards. The first time she was aware she wasn't alone was when two hands covered her eyes. Then his voice whispered in her ear, "Guess who?"

"Joey," she whispered and his hands fell away from her face. She turned her head and found him sitting behind her; his legs either side of her hips. His hand reached up and grazed her cheek as he pushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. His thumb stroked her cheek and Lauren bit her lips to stifle the moan that was threatening to escape at the touch of his hand on her skin. His lips met hers in a kiss that quickly deepened and this time Lauren couldn't stop the moan as she felt the passion behind it. She pulled her mouth from his after a short while, "We can't do this..." she said. "It's not right..."

"Do you want to?" he asked, needing to know how she felt.

"Do you?" She fired back, unable to put into words what she wanted to say.

"I asked first..." he said mutinously.

"What are we, Joey? Twelve?" she said, semi-seriously, echoing his earlier words back to him.

Silence built between them and Joey lowered his eyes from hers, scared of revealing too much to the girl before him, "I want this." He whispered.

Lauren turned to face him fully and looked at him, seeing a vulnerability that she'd never seen on his face before, "Me too." She whispered back. He kissed her again, his mouth moving on hers and his hands pulled her to him, pressing her against his firm muscular body. "What about Lucy?" she asked just as softly when they separated so they could catch their breaths.

"She ended it with me. She could see what we've both been denying," he told her gently. He moved her as he spoke and soon Lauren was lying on the rug and he was hovering above her, staring intently into her eyes, just like he'd been before they first kissed. This time there was no missing the lust in their depths. "Do you want to?" he asked her again, his voice husky. She nodded. "I need to hear you say it, Lauren." He whispered.

"I want to, Joey." She whispered back to him. "I want you." She felt breathless and her pulse was racing. God knows what she'd be like when they went further...

His hand pushed under her T-shirt, stroking the skin of her stomach so gently Lauren could've cried. He kissed her lips softly before moving them across her face and down her jaw. Then he was moving down her neck. The whole time his hands were busy, pulling their clothes from her body and his. The only time he stopped kissing her was when it was necessary to remove an item of clothing, then his mouth was back on her again at the earliest possibility. Lauren lay there, enjoying the experience. She tried to help him out of his clothes as he dragged his T-shirt up his body but he pushed her hands away so she had to be satisfied with just watching him. He was beautiful. And he made her feel beautiful. This couldn't be wrong.

There was a moment before they were joined when there was stillness between them. Everything ceased to move and they just stared into each other's eyes. Lauren could see the hesitation in his and she reached up and brushed the side of his face with her fingers, his eyes shutting as she touched him. She lifted her head and kissed him softly, pushing as much passion into those few seconds as she could.

He eased into her slowly, feeling her tense slightly at his size. She stared up at him and for the first time she let him see behind the barriers she so effortlessly kept in place. He saw everything she hid from everyone else and she was beautiful. He'd known she was anyway, had known it from the first time his eyes settled on her but now it was like seeing her for the first time. Seeing the true person beneath the mask she wore.

Lauren couldn't believe this was finally happening, not that she'd ever really had any hope of it ever taking place but here she was, just two months after meeting him, making love with her cousin. She knew this wasn't just sex. She'd done that before and this was different. It was special. She knew it in her heart. Granted it wasn't the most romantic of settings. Fuck, they were in the middle of the lounge and any member of her family could walk in and find them at any second but on an emotional front, it was the most romantic experience of her life. She could tell he was being gentle with her and she loved him all the more for it.

His weight was on his arms that lay either side of her head and his fingers were playing with the ends of her hair. Never had it felt like this for him. By no means was Joey Branning a virgin but this, well, this felt completely new to him. He lowered his mouth to hers and then his tongue was exploring her mouth, dancing with hers as they both deepened the kiss. He wanted this moment to last but at the same time he was desperate to see her face when she came; he wanted to know what it would feel like for him to be in her as she came. He wanted to experience it all when it came to making love with Lauren. He wanted everything.

Lauren could feel that precipice moving slowly closer and she wished she could hold it off a little longer. He started to move a little faster in her and she arched her back and moaned his name as his length caught that sacred spot within her. The sensation blew her mind and she longed for him to do that again. Joey must be a mind-reader because he did, over and over again and it was enough to throw her over the precipice, crying out his name in a voice that barely sounded like hers.

She could feel his eyes watching her as she calmed. He hadn't come yet although looking at his face she could tell he was very close. He was moving in and out of her at a much slower pace now and she wasn't sure why. Was he not enjoying this? That thought caused her to freeze.

"What's wrong?" he asked her when he felt her flinch beneath him.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she whispered, her eyes shutting, unable to look at him.

"Why?"

"Was I no good?" she breathed. "Don't I excite you? Is this just a game for you?" She could hear her own insecurities in her voice. Would it always be the case that she felt so worthless after sex...?

"Babe," he moaned, "Look at me, Lauren." He waited for her to turn her eyes back to him but she didn't. "Lauren..." he whispered, "There's nothing wrong, believe me. Please let me see your eyes." She opened them and stared up at his face. Joey could see how they shone, the tears filling them. He kissed her softly, pulling his mouth from hers after just a few seconds, "You're more than good, babe. It's never been like this with anyone else. It's so good I don't want it to end."

"But you haven't... you know."

He smiled at her, loving the way she couldn't say the word. "I was waiting for you to calm down so we could start all over again." He told her with a slight smirk.

"Oh..." she whispered, her face turning red. "Okay then..."

He kissed one of her reddening cheeks, "So beautiful..." he murmured against her skin. Her face darkened further and he chuckled. "I could get used to seeing this side of you, babe." He told her, his hands playing with her hair again.

"I kind of like you from where I am now, too." She whispered and he smiled at her; a smile that lit up the whole of his face.

"You ready?" he asked against her lips as he lowered his head to kiss her again.

She nodded but when she saw him quirk his eyebrow, she whispered, "Yes."

He smirked at her, "Hold tight," he said, winking at her. She gasped as he set a much faster pace this time, slipping easily in and out of her body as he thrust against her. One of her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers brushing into his hair as she pulled his face down to meet hers.

His hand grasped one of her knees and he lifted it, encouraging her to wrap her leg around his waist. Lauren moved her other one to join it seconds later when she felt him slide deeper into her body. "Joey, Joey, Joey," she repeated softly as her body tightened on him once more. Both of his hands slid down to her hips and he gripped them tightly before pushing into her sublime body three more times. He pulsed inside her, his cry of her name muffled by his face being buried in her neck. Lauren clung to him as she felt him relax against her.

"I love you..." he murmured against her damp skin.

Lauren smiled, not having expected him to say those words to her. As she thought about it she realised that the feeling was mutual, "I love you too, Joe." She told him softly. "I love you too." She wasn't sure there had ever been a time where she'd meant those words as much as she did now. Lauren knew the way she was feeling right now was something she'd never experienced before. A flicker of guilt ebbed through her as she thought of her best friend; who'd been in love with Joey almost as long as Lauren had. To know her friend had sacrificed her own feelings for Lauren's happiness was difficult for her to understand. She wasn't sure she'd be quite so willing to reciprocate if the situation was reversed. In fact, if she had her way she would never be letting Joey go. He was practically perfect in every way.

"We should move..." he told her gently, "Won't someone be home soon?"

Lauren glanced at the time, "I'm surprised someone isn't already..." she admitted reluctantly.

"Come on then..." he said.

"Don't wanna move..." she whined, clinging to him tighter than a limpet. They were both hot, sweaty and lying in the middle of her house but she really didn't have the energy to move from where she was.

"Babe... I was just suggesting we move somewhere a little more private." He told her. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

She looks at his face and can see he's telling her the truth. "Okay..." she whispered, her arms and legs loosening from his body. He gets to his feet and holds out a hand towards her, pulling her up from the floor. She's pulled again into his body and he kisses her deeply.

Reluctantly he pulls away from her and begins to grab their clothes from the floor, one large bundle of clothing stuffed into a pile and held against his body. He picks up both bottles of vodka and leaves them on the side, pushing the armchair back into its original place as he walks back to Lauren. "Come on," he says again, taking her hand in his and pulling her up the stairs. "Which room is yours?" he asks her, seemingly oblivious the fact they're both stark naked.

Lauren points over his shoulder towards the door and he pushes it open. "I share it with Abs." She says as she walks behind him into the room, closing the door behind them.

"We'll need to make sure she doesn't disturb us then, won't we?" he says, throwing their clothes onto the chair at Lauren's desk. He spins to face her and pushes her back against the recently closed door, "Up for round two?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Definitely." She said, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his lips. He was like an addiction. She just wanted more and more of him. This was going to be difficult to hide she realised. He was hard against her stomach already and her hand reached down and stroked him gently.

She watched his face and saw his eyes roll back in his head as her hand moved on him. She wasn't sure she'd ever had this effect on a guy before. And certainly none had ever affected her this way either. "Need you now," he moaned and moved his hand to hers, stopping its movement on him. He lifted her in his arms and turned them so they were against a wall rather than the door. He filled her with one small shift of his hips and she gasped, feeling her body welcome him. His whole body was pressed against hers, she could feel every contour of his well defined frame and it was already something she craved. She liked the way it felt when he was pressed against her. She loved the way it felt to have him moving in and out of her body; the way her body stretched around his cock so he fit her perfectly. She lifted a foot off the ground and wrapped it around his waist, feeling him pause slightly before starting again. It was Joey that lifted her other foot into the air and Lauren knew the only thing keeping her in her current position was Joey. "Feels so good, baby," he groaned into her ear as he fell over the edge once more, his cock pulsing inside her again.

"JOEY!" she screamed, her orgasm stronger than any she'd experienced before. He continued to press her into the wall as they both recover.

"Never knew you were a screamer, babe." He chuckled into her ear. "Although I probably should've guessed."

"Never have been, till now." She whimpered. Her whole body ached and she was sure she was going to have bruises in places she'd never even been aware of by the morning. "The things you do to me, Joe." She pants against his shoulder.

"You complaining?" he asks.

"Never." She sighed. And she really isn't. This was the best thing she'd ever done, she realised and it was all as a result of a little kiss.

**THE END.**

**A/N: So there you go. Hope you all enjoyed the naked Joey. I don't know about you but I'm a bit hot under the collar now... Did you like it? Hope this makes up for the lack of J/L scenes in the episodes recently. Let me know what you think in a review. So many stories on the go...**

**Bonus points to anyone who spotted the Mary Poppins reference. :-)**


End file.
